Harassment allegations
More and more women are bringing serious harassment charges against New York Governor Cuomo – and now calls for resignation are increasing.
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Photo: Michael Brochstein / ZUMA Wire / dpa
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After several women have been harassed, calls for resignation from leading Democrats have further increased pressure on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Leaders of his own party, including Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, who represent New York in twos in the US Senate, joined demands from more than a dozen members from the state in the US House of Representatives. However, Cuomo still firmly refuses to resign. At the weekend, he demonstratively went about his official business, for example published current data on corona infection and the vaccination campaign in his state.
“I was elected by the people in the state,” said the 63-year-old on Friday at a telephone press conference. “I wasn’t elected by politicians. I’m not resigning on allegations. ”Meanwhile, women, most of whom were former governor’s employees, are accusing Cuomo of sexual harassment. The allegations are about physical and verbal harassment. Cuomo has apologized for possible “misinterpretations” of his behavior, but also stressed again on Friday: “I did not do what I was accused of, period.”
Under mounting public pressure, New York Attorney General Letitia James opened an investigation. Cuomo pledged to work with investigators. US President Joe Biden had announced through his spokeswoman that he supported the investigation.
In addition to Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, a majority of the 19 MPs from New York in the US House of Representatives also called for Cuomo’s resignation, including Jerry Nadler and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Nadler, announced that Cuomo had lost the confidence of the New Yorkers and had to resign. Ocasio-Cortez said Cuomo could no longer run New York effectively given the many credible allegations. Many Cuomos in the New York State House of Representatives also called for Cuomos to resign, and investigations into possible impeachment proceedings were opened.
The spokeswoman for the US House of Representatives, the Democrat Nancy Pelosi, called the allegations against Cuomo on Sunday on the Abc News broadcaster “credible and serious” – but did not call for his resignation. Cuomo loves New York, Pelosi said, and he should “look into his heart” and wonder if he can still govern effectively.
Cuomo was once considered a beacon of hope for the Democratic Party. In the corona pandemic, he presented himself as an alternative to the then Republican President Donald Trump. However, he was then suspected of having concealed the true extent of the drama because of the numbers of deaths in nursing homes that were subsequently revised upwards. As a result, Cuomo was already under pressure before the harassment allegations became public.
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